Senate Resolution 58 - Introduced

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  1  1                SENATE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2                      BY  GRONSTAL
  1  3 A Resolution declaring support for Amtrak.
  1  4    WHEREAS, Amtrak, the national railroad passenger
  1  5 corporation providing national railroad passenger
  1  6 service, is energy efficient and environmentally
  1  7 beneficial; and
  1  8    WHEREAS, Amtrak provides mobility to citizens of
  1  9 many smaller communities not well served by air and
  1 10 bus services and to those persons with medical
  1 11 conditions which prevent them from traveling by air;
  1 12 and
  1 13    WHEREAS, according to Amtrak, Amtrak ridership in
  1 14 Iowa has increased from 47,442 in 2003 to 54,365 in
  1 15 2004; and
  1 16    WHEREAS, according to Amtrak, during 2004, Amtrak
  1 17 carried over 25 million passengers nationwide,
  1 18 representing an increase of over 4.3 percent compared
  1 19 to 2003; and
  1 20    WHEREAS, in service to those 25 million passengers,
  1 21 Amtrak serves over 500 stations in 46 states on 22,000
  1 22 miles of track with approximately 20,000 employees,
  1 23 contributing strongly to local and regional economies;
  1 24 and
  1 25    WHEREAS, the Amtrak 2004 budget represented only 2
  1 26 percent of the United States Department of
  1 27 Transportation's $59 billion budget, compared to the
  1 28 balance for highway and airline subsidies; NOW
  1 29 THEREFORE,
  1 30    BE IT RESOLVED BY SENATE, That the President of the
  2  1 United States and the Congress are urged to do the
  2  2 following:
  2  3    1.  Maintain a strong level of Amtrak funding; and
  2  4    2.  Include a strong Amtrak system in all plans for
  2  5 the national transportation system; and
  2  6    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
  2  7 resolution be sent to the President of the United
  2  8 States, the President of the United States Senate, the
  2  9 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
  2 10 and members of Iowa's congressional delegation.
  2 11 LSB 3670SS 81
  2 12 eg:rj/gg/14